VIP Culture Should Be Purged From Our Democracy

Persistence of VIP cultureConflicting reports surfaced in Bengaluru that an ambulance was held up in traffic for 25 minutes so that Karnataka CM’s convoy could pass. The cries and pleas of the relative of the patient went in vain and the police were unmoved. Even though it was not clear about the fatality of the patient, the public was disgruntled by the behavior of the police which was naturally directed towards the Karnataka CM. This is not the first time a Chief Minister’s convoy brings public life to halt; it is a common phenomenon across India. We have seen other instances where trains have been held up and sometimes airlines staffs get castigated for not waiting for a VIP.

No change in attitudeIndia has often fumed about the VIP culture of politicians, their huge security convoys and the expenditure of tax payers money which comes along with it. Most of the politicians have shown little intent to end this VIP culture and it has cost a few lives until now. The incident involving the Karnataka CM is a malaise, a cancer spread across the political class, for whom it is these convoys and other perks which lure politicians for high posts.

But once again, many of the common citizens will go about their daily lives without having the time to spare a thought for the victim and letting the politicians off the hook or it could be public anger can bring about a drastic change in this behavior of politicians.

But the tough questions remains

1. Why do we wait till something as bad as this to happen before we rise up from our slumber?

2. Why do politicians need security from the very people who they vote?

3. Do politicians have huge convoys when they come and seek vote?

The Logical Indian condemns this attitude of the politician, the Karnataka CM in this case and our condolences goes out to the family of the bereaved. Be it traffic, poor roads or a seat on a train, or catching the flight on time — the rules which apply for the commoners should be applied for all. It is time that public becomes intolerant to VIP culture.

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Be A True Ally To The Women In Your Life #ShareTheLoad

Women empowerment is one of the most important words of the present times. It is not a mere phrase but it rather represents a movement, which has been pending for the longest time. However, many have a misconception that educating women, “letting” them work, etc. is all that women empowerment is all about. However, the concept of women empowerment is more of an umbrella term. It intends to involve society as a whole, including men.

We always encourage and applaud a woman who successfully balances both work life and her household. But won’t it be easy for that woman if the load of the work is shared? We see that in our society a woman’s primary role is seen as that of a homemaker. At the same time, her personal likes, aspirations, and dreams are forced to be put on the backburner because of the undue expectation that she has to single handedly manage the household while balancing her career. To give credit where it is due, the times are changing. Men and women of the house are increasingly sharing the workload. However, one can also not turn a blind to the fact that a lot more still needs to be done.

Driving home the same concept, popular brand Ariel has come up with brilliant communication.

The video shows a mother speaking to her married daughter over the phone, all whilst cleaning the mess her son has created. She is absolutely heartbroken when her daughter says that she plans to quit her job since juggling both a demanding job and her household has become too overwhelming. It is during this time that she realises that while she and her husband as parents left no stone unturned to give an all-round upbringing to their daughter, they somewhere forgot to teach their son some basic life skills like cooking and doing laundry so that they grow out to be equally responsible in doing household chores. This is not a story of just one family, but of families across the country. These are some things which everyone must know, not for any other reason, but simply because these are basic tasks which are absolutely essential to survive. And, they make you capable to be equal partners tomorrow!

As Ariel raises an important question-is household work only a woman’s job? We need to ask ourselves the same question. A recent study revealed that the unpaid work done by women around the world amounted to 43 times the annual turnover of Apple Inc. It is high time we share the load and change the narrative that household work is the “duty” of a woman. As the video shows, contributing to the household work is not only a daughter’s work, but the son must contribute his bit too. It is also important for the parents to instil a sense of responsibility in their children, irrespective of their gender so that at any juncture of their lives, they are not completely dependent on another person for basic tasks like these. Ariel has been consistently driving this message and addressing the inequality within households since 2015. The Logical Indian applauds Ariel for coming up with such a brilliant video for depicting such an important concept.